Dr. Carmen Gonzalez is the Dart Endowed Associate Professor in Trauma, Journalism, and Communication. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication, and B.A. in Journalism and American Studies, from the University of Southern California.
Through interdisciplinary and community-based research, Dr. Gonzalez’ work is focused on digital equity and health communication. She applies communication theory and methods to tackle population health concerns, such as how information and communication technologies can promote or mitigate racial health disparities. Her current research projects focus on postpartum care and telemedicine, language access in medical settings, and information access within immigrant families. She has also worked on multiple rapid response projects to address the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color. This work has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, UW Population Health Initiative, and Google.
At the undergraduate level Dr. Gonzalez teaches courses in communication difference and qualitative methods. At the graduate level she teaches seminars in community-based research, fieldwork methods, and health communication.
Dr. Gonzalez is an associate director for the Center for Communication Difference, and Equity, and faculty affiliate with the Latino Center for Health and the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. She is also a principle investigator for the UW Alacrity Center, which leverages human-centered design to overcome barriers to mental health care for underserved communities.
Learn more about Dr. Gonzalez’ work in this faculty profile and award announcement.
Selected publications
- Gonzalez, C., Early, J., Gordon-Dseagu, V., Mata, T., & Nieto, C. (2021). Promoting culturally tailored mHealth: A scoping review of mobile health interventions in Latinx communities. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01209-4
- Gonzalez, C., Ramirez, M., Diaz, A., Duran, M., & Arean, P. (2021). Expanding virtual postpartum mental health care for Latina women: A participatory research and policy agenda. Women’s Health Issues, 31(2), 96-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2020.10.005
- Gonzalez, C., Bollinger, B., Yip, J.C., Pina, L., Roldan, W., & Nieto, C.* (2020). Intergenerational online health information searching and brokering: Framing health literacy as a family asset. Health Communication, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1847445
- Baquero, B., Gonzalez, C., Ramirez, M., Chavez-Santos, E., & Ornelas, I.J. (2020). Understanding and addressing Latinx COVID-19 disparities in Washington State. Health Education & Behavior, 47(6), 845-859. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120963099
- Early, J., Gonzalez, C., Gordon-Dseagu, V., & Robles-Calderon, L. (2019). Use of mobile health (mHealth) technologies and interventions among community health workers globally: A scoping review. Health Promotion Practice, 20(6), 805–817. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839919855391
- Pina, L., Gonzalez, C., Nieto, C., Roldan, W., Onofre, E., & Yip, J.C. (2018). How Latino children in the U.S. engage in collaborative online information problem solving with their families. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 2(CSCW), Article 140. https://doi.org/10.1145/3274409.
- Gonzalez, C., & Katz, V.S. (2016). Transnational communication as a driver of technology adoption in immigrant families. International Journal of Communication, 10, 2683-273. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5321/1673
- Katz, V.S., & Gonzalez, C. (2016). Toward meaningful connectivity: Using multilevel communication research to reframe digital inequality. Journal of Communication, 66(2), 236-249. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12214